Behind The Lens: Jonny Wilson

We caught up with Sunderland and Silksworth local Jonny Wilson who’s been a busy guy the past few months. After another local, Raymond Inskipp got hooked up on Tempered Bikes, Jonny scored the Tempered/Scoop Distro catalogue cover and also a Tempered advert in Ride UK. It looks like he’s slowly getting a name for himself in the North East’s media cavalry and he’s not showing any signs of slowing with a whole load more up his sleeve for this year. Read on as we fire some questions out and find where he get’s his inspiration from for his photos and videos and also showcase a couple of Jonny’s favorites.

Street Phire: So Jonny, a bit of G33K first but what’s in the bag?

The kit

Jonny Wilson: Camera: Canon 550D Lenses: Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye and Canon 50mm F1.8 Mk II Filming Equipment: Glidecam HD1000, Manfrotto 055xprob Tripod with HD701 fluid head, Kanova slider, 160-LED light, 9808 spare battery’s and an X-Grip

As you can see my equipment is pretty basic and it designed around my filming rather than photography hence why I chose Canon over Nikon

SP: Natural light or flash?

JW: Natural, but that just because I have shot using natural light for the past year, I have worked in a studio but I enjoy on location photography where you have to work side by side with the natural light.

SP: Favorite lens?

JW: 50mm all day! I would also say its the best investment any photographer can make

SP: Whats your photography editing program of choice?

JW: Photoshop, purely as it’s all I have ever had the chance to use.

SP: Would you say you’re a wiz with the old magic wand?

JW: No, I like to keep editing to a minimum, nothing worse in my eyes than an over edited photo you just lose the originality of the shot.

SP: Who’s your top three photographers?

Photo: Sam Hutchinson

JW: A local skater called Sam Hutchinson, he was probably the reason I started taking photos in the first place. This is my favorite photo by Sam, he shoots on film, something I have tried but I still rather digital.

Jack Alexander; He’s a fashion photographer, like not my thing but he uses basic kit and his results are great. It’s something I preach like you don’t need thousands of pounds of stuff to produce great work, you just have to go with what you got and make the best from it. It’s not my usual type of photography but I dunno I just admire his work he is self-taught like I am which I think has something to do with it.

and Ricky Adam, Destroy Everything is fucking awesome! For me its a lot like Sam’s but he combines it with BMX which just adds to the mix

SP: Whats your top three favorite things to photograph?

JW: BMX – There is no other subject which gives you and the person on the other end of the lens so much! Like when you get that one photo and your super stoked, then the rider looks at it and he is super stoked also, just a massive buzz, nothing beats that. Then when you get the chance to shoot photos of riders for stuff like adverts and that it’s just the cherry on the cake!

People – I love taking photos of just people, like everybody is different, like just random shots chilling or just shots of somebody sitting having a cigarette like no one person is the same as the next. Characteristics etc

Instagram – I fucking love Instagram haha

SP: Instashout – @jonnywilson

SP: You’ve also made a couple of videos, one that springs to mind was the Sean Kelly, Welcome to Proper edit which has had over 12,000 views. How did you get into making videos? Where was the influence from for that?

JW: Dchum and SBR, seeing him filming all the time and the whole process behind it, I just loved it and thought one day I could do that haha. I’m just into the whole crack of everyone getting footage for an edit, the process and like the end product with everybody getting stoked about it.

SP: Favorite Dchum edit?

JW: I love filming on a whole though outside of BMX, it’s something that I want to do in the future as a full-time thing as im so passionate about it, it would only make sense to pursue it.

SP: A bit of fish or a bit of length to your lens?

JW: Length as I find using a fisheye is an easy way out, although I do like to use my fish eye, I just favour a bit of length and a nice DoF.

SP: Top three edits of last year?

JW: Isaac Lesser – Mankind 2012, more the way it was filmed and put together rather than the riding.

BSD – Living for the City Pt 3, Alex D kills it and the filming is dialled.

Demolition – Dennis Enarson, simply because he fucking kills it, he is insane, gone in the head.

SP: What you got in the pipeline for 2013?

JW: Rax’s Odyssey edit which we’re filming for now and then filming in Spain with Proper in the summer.

SP: Exciting times, well the best of luck for 2013 and we look forward to see what you bring to the table. Be sure to see the videos on here when they drop! Be sure to check out a couple of Jonny’s favorite photos he’s taken below.